Clean Freak

Obsession with cleanliness is hereditary and it advances as you grow older.

Caught this “ailment” from different people-- All strangely from mum’s side of the family.

People have one or the other form of the “cleanliness syndrome”. I have ALL… & the result of which is I see dust/dirt everywhere.

1. Dust-free home: From an Aunt who gets up EVERYDAY at 5.00 in the morning to clean the house. (She doesn’t even give time for the poor thing – (dust) to settle down).

Every Saturday Morning:

7.00 a.m. Open door for the maid… (in a sleepy state of mind)

Back on the bed: Did I just see a thin layer of dust on the table? Will clean it up later… need sleep…

7.03 a.m. But how!? Remember cleaning the whole house on Thursday

7.05 a.m. Oh what the hell! Will clean it up now….

Clean the whole house again… whole process takes two hours!

Try getting back to bed… Spot a tiny (negligible to one-by-two) stain on the washbasin… clean the bathrooms, wash basins, put clothes for washing, clean the windows, doors, imaginary cobwebs….

Phew! I’m tired… must get back to sleep….

Oh no! Now the floor looks dirty!… clean the floor, the balcony, change the bed-covers— put them too for a wash…

Saturday -- Over!

2. Cleaning feet: From mum.

An exceptionally rare class of people belong to this category, people who cannot go about with dirty feet!

And strangely, the other un-rare doesn’t understand the importance of the process of cleaning feet.

I clean my feet almost ALL day… something that the other class would not understand

The cleaning cycle begins in the morning:

Reach office: (By car) Feet seem dusty… must clean… rush to the loo… wash feet... scrub… wipe… apply sunscreen+ moisturizer. (At peace now)

Get back from lunch: The feet seem dirty again! Rush to loo again and repeat the cycle…

In the night before sleeping (Or would keep thinking about dirty feet… and won’t get sleep): repeat the whole cycle (except sunscreen of course…)

3. Cleaning all that you can lay your eyes on: From Sis (she might look cool and all that but she’s extremely particular when it comes to cleaning ANYTHING. ANYWHERE.)

First day of work:

Cleaned the table with a tissue.

Cleaned the keyboard, monitor, desk phone, mouse, cubicle-mate’s keyboard, monitor etc.

Abnormally, I cannot keep my cupboard clean, nobody in the family seems to be the “cupboard clean freak” and so I could not inherit this particular trait from anyone.

Annnnd after all this, my sis and my mum believe I’m lazy when it comes to cleanliness. I agree I may not be very particular about cleaning teeth (and hence six root canals -- from dad’s side of the family as they say), cupboards, hair (washing hair --should be voted the most boring activity… ever!). The rest ofcourse is sacred to me. One by two may think I’m a “freak” as he calls me when I go about on the cleaning spree grumbling and mumbling…

Oh Well...him and the rest of the not-belonging-to-the-exceptionally-rare-class would never understand the “peace” one gets from “Cleaning”. Still in the process of explaining the virtue of cleanliness to the ever so I-don’t-care-if-my-feet-are-clean-or-not and would dirty the bed cover-- one by two... he will understand someday (hopefully)